BESUCHER

August 2018

France, 1940: German troops are approaching Paris. For the lovable Polish Jew Jakobowsky, the time has come to once more flee the German conquerors. His countryman --- the aristocratic Colonel Prokoszny --- must get out of France as quickly as possible. He has a secret mission to carry out. The gruff military hero can't stand Jews. Nevertheless, he allows himself to flee south with Jakobowsky. With his incomparable talent of convincing others to do what he wants, Jakobowsky ist even able to secure a Rolls Royce with fuel in the middle of a war! On their way to Spain, the unlikely due manage to rescue the colonel's lover from the enemy's clutches. Thrown together unwillingly into a turbulent odyssey, the two manage to get the best of the occupiers at every turn.

An impoverished young man brings his gravely ill father to Tehran in the hope of securing him treatment. After being unsuccessful, they encounter a doctor who offers them a substantial sum of money, if they will assist him in some unspecified work. Ali soon finds himself involved in black market trading and as he descends further into chaos and disrepute, he must choose which path to take.

Shy technical draftsman Emil Keller experiences as much persecution from his boss Bollmann as he does from Schimmel, his landlady's brother. Emil happens to be in love with Bollmann's secretary, Anni, but he naturally doesn't have the fortitude to admit that to her. When news gets around that he's the recipient of a large inheritance, he suddenly finds himself being wooed by everyone under the Sun. It doesn't take long for disappointment to set in, however, when the gold-diggers discover that, instead a large sum of money, Keller's going to inherit three circus lions.

Old King Hamlet must have a son to be heir to his throne. After he goes off to war, his wife gives birth to a daughter. Knowing the king will be terribly disappointed, the queen decides to disguise the girl as a boy. Many years later, Hamlet, still pretending to be a young man, goes to university at Wittenberg where she falls in love with Horatio. Meanwhile, back at Elsinore, the Queen is actively plotting with Claudius to kill King Hamlet. Horatio returns to Elsinore for the king's funeral with Hamlet and falls in love with Ophelia. Hamlet courts Ophelia in order to keep Horatio for herself. Hamlet discovers her father's murderer; accidentally kills Polonius; is sent off with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern; is intercepted by her friend from university, Fortinbras of Norway, who obligingly does away with R & G for her. When she returns to Elsinore, she finds Claudius drunk and kills him. The queen then plots with Laertes to kill Hamlet. The queen accidentally drinks the poisoned wine. Hamlet is cut with the poisoned sword. Horatio, embracing Hamlet in death, discovers what no one else had known before: that there was more to Hamlet than meets the eye.

Apparently, the classic tale of a dysfunctional family, long considered one step above poo by some of the world's greatest poets and writers, needed a contemporary, "scientific" explanation for Hamlet's affected behavior. Asta Nielsen backed and starred in this version of the saga based on the interpretation of "literary scholar" Professor Dining, an American, who decided the reason behind Hamlet's bizarre behavior must've been because the prince was actually a princess! Thus, the tormented Hamlet parades around, dressed as a man, but lusts like a woman, and suffers because her/his equally screwed-up family feels the best way to get things in life is to plot, poison and condemn one's own child to permanent abstinence. And they needed to explain Hamlet's behavior ... uh huh.

The adventurer Jeanne de Valois-Saint-Remy, descendant of King Henry II of France, who claims to be "Countess de la Motte", imagines a tortuous plan to steal a magnificent necklace of diamonds that Queen Marie-Antoinette refused to buy from the jewelers Boehmer and Bassange. Based, loosely, on an actual historical episode.

Aviator Pierre Vignal, the victim of a storm, will soon be forced to land in the park of a Czech castle. Its inhabitants, Countess Elizabeth, her brother George and Doctor Massarski, take care of Pierre, who's falling in love with Elizabeth. Jealous of George, he gradually learns that a sister, Helen, lives trapped in a wing of the castle. She's begging for help. Eager to save her and to run away with her, Peter causes her death in a car accident.

Men Behind the Sun is a 1988 Hong Kong historical horror film. The film is a graphic depiction of the war atrocities committed by the Japanese at Unit 731, the secret biological weapons experimentation unit of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. The film details the various cruel medical experiments Unit 731 inflicted upon Chinese and Soviet prisoners. The film opens with the passage "Friendship is friendship; history is history."

A group of Japanese boys are conscripted into the Youth Corps. They are assigned to the Kwantung Army, and are brought to one of the facilities serving Unit 731, which is headed by Shiro Ishii. Soon, they are introduced to the experiments going on at the facility, for which they feel revulsion. The purpose of the experiments is to find a highly contagious strain of bubonic plague, to be used as a last-ditch weapon against the Chinese population. Meanwhile, the young soldiers befriend a local, mute Chinese boy with whom they play games. One day, the commanding officers ask the boys to bring the Chinese child to the facility. Naively, they follow orders believing that no real harm will come to the boy; however, the senior medical staff places the boy in surgery for the purpose of harvesting his organs for research. When the young soldiers realize what has happened, they stage a minor uprising by ganging up and physically beating their commanding officer. As the war goes on, the situation becomes increasingly desperate for the Japanese, and therefore Unit 731. In one of their last experiments, they tie a number of Chinese prisoners to crosses, intending them to be used as targets for a prototype ceramic bomb containing infectious fleas; however, they are not able to contact their airfield due to a retreat. The Chinese prisoners break free from the crosses, and attempt to escape. However, Japanese troops hunt them down, and nearly all of them are run over or shot, including several Japanese. Returning to the facility after the aborted experiment, Unit 731 runs out of time and is are forced to destroy their research and all other evidence of the atrocities happening there. Dr. Ishii initially orders his subordinates and their families to commit suicide, but is persuaded instead to evacuate them and only commit suicide if captured. However, he makes it clear that secrecy is to be maintained, with dire consequences if not. The Japanese troops gather at a train station to be transported out of China. One of the Chinese prisoners, having disguised himself and escaped with a group of soldiers, is discovered by an officer. During a short scuffle in which he kills the officer before being killed himself, his blood stains the Japanese flag, to the horror of the Youth Corps. The train leaves the station. The closing passages reveal that Dr. Ishii cooperates with the Americans, giving them his research and agreeing to work for them. Years later, he is moved to the Korean front, and biological weapons appear on the battlefield shortly thereafter. The Youth Corps involved with 731 are revealed to have led hard lives after the war, but kept the vow that none of the atrocities they witnessed would be revealed to or discussed with the public.

Epic war film tells the story of tankmen who served in the 1st Czechoslovak Brigade, formed in the USSR during the Second World War. Sergeant Juraj Klimke and his crew take us through the bloody battle of Dukla Pass on the Polish border, which brought the Soviet "liberators" and the Czech army in exile back onto Slovak territory, marking the beginning of the end of the German occupation of the former Czechoslovakia. Over 3,000 Czech soldiers took part in the re-creation of the battle scenes.

In medieval Russia, the Snow Maiden refuses to depart with Father Frost to Siberia for warmer months, lured as she is by the happy villagers enjoying a Shrovetide celebration in the snow. He agrees to let her enjoy spring with the villagers, but only after entrusting her safety to the “wood genies” of the forest, strange, moss-covered creatures who emerge from shrubs and swamp. In the village, the Snow Maiden falls under the thrall of an elderly couple in poverty who wishes to sell her beauty for a rich dowry. Though the frosty Snow Maiden cannot love, she quickly becomes attached to the young singer Lel, who is smitten with her, and whose songs she admires. When a rich merchant, Misghir, arrives (also singing) from upriver, he quickly scorns his fiancée Kupava for the Snow Maiden. Tsar Berendey tells Misghir that he cannot have the girl unless she returns his affections, but the merchant only frightens the snow-spirit; at one point Misghir becomes so desperate in his obsession for the unobtainable Snow Maiden that he nearly rapes her. Lel, meanwhile, falls in love with Kupava, and the Snow Maiden, despairing, turns to her mother, Spring, to learn the gift of love. In doing so – as the old folktale goes – she melts away, seen here in a symbolic shot of the maiden dissolving in a beam of sunlight. Misghir dies of grief.

The film is set in Lithuania after the Second World War. It shows dramatic events in a small Lithuanian farming community, where people are split between those who support their Soviet masters and the "Brothers in the Forests" - armed bands of Lithuanian nationalists. One by one, four village council chairmen are killed. When old Lokis is killed, the man's four sons set out to avenge his death. They vow to destroy the gang.

Poor, itinerant musician Robert was born out of wedlock, his mother dying as she gave birth to him. When he takes up work at the farmer Hartmann's place, he discovers that the man is his father. Because Robert's mother was chased off the farm when the boy was born, the absentee father now wants to make things right and decides to make the boy his sole heir. But when Hartmann drops dead, Robert turns over the farm to his half-brother, so that he --- also the father of a bastard --- can marry the mother of the child and raise it in its own home.

A chic, good-looking and suitably 70's couple arrive at an extravagant and deserted seaside hotel after eloping. Stefan is wealthy and happily English, with a hidden streak of sadism, while Valarie is intelligent but of inferior (Swedish) blood. To keep her with him at the eerie hotel he lies consistantly about his relationship with his mother and his plans to tell her of their marriage. Meanwhile he has mysterious phone conversations with an older, dominant and pampered sissy. Two fresh guests arrive; the Hungarian countess, Elizabeth Bathory and her voluptuous protege, Ilona. Virgin corpses begin showing up about the city drained of their blood. A wary detective lurks around the hotel taunting his only suspect, the Countess.

The film, based on pre-Christian Finnish mythology and Sami shamanism, is set in Finnish Lapland and centers on a young woman, Pirita. In the snowy landscape, Pirita and reindeer herder Aslak meet and soon marry. Aslak must spend time away for work, leaving his new bride alone. In an effort to alleviate her loneliness and ignite marital passion, Pirita visits the local shaman, who, indeed, helps her out; but in the process turns her into a shape-shifting, vampiric, white reindeer. The villages' men are drawn to her and pursue her, with tragic results.

19th Century Russia: Feofar Khan has called upon his Tartars to revolt against the Czar, splitting Siberia off from the rest of the empire. In Irkutsk, the Czar's brother is desperately holding out against the rebellion. Desperately needing to get a message to his brother, the Czar gives Captain Strogoff a letter to deliver to the besieged garrison. To get through enemy lines, however, the courier will have to disguise himself as a merchant and travel in the company of his "wife", a disloyal subject with a big axe to grind against anything and anyone in the service of Imperial Russia.

A ramble through East Berlin, circa 1977: unique, original recordings made in the capital of the DDR --- by day and night; in Summer and in Winter --- offer a comprehensive insight into the diversity of life in the city back then. Shown are numerous sights, well-known buildings and squares (such as the city's famous TV Tower; the Red City Hall; the Palace of the Republic; Alexanderplatz; and Unter den Linden. Also, popular places of leisure and recreation are films, such as the city zoo; the People's Park Friedrichshain; the Christmas Market; and Pankow's large, outdoor swimming pool. Inbetween the filming of these landmarks, the film crew talks with a range of city residents, who talk about everyday life in 1970s East Berlin. The film is rounded off by showing new residential areas, businesses, restaurants and shops, as well as using archived materials of official political events, military parades and commemoration ceremonies.

Wealthy London businessman Trayne has worked out a brilliant plan to steal the royal crown jewels from the Tower of London. First, he organizes the breakout of the prisoner Graham, who looks astonishingly like Dick Lee-Carnaby, a guard at the Tower. Trayne's secretary, Hope, who's Carnaby's main squeeze, knows nothing of this devilish scheme and ends up unwittingly helping it to take place. The project seems flawless and ready to execute; but Trayne is clueless about the intrigues of his accomplice Dinah Pawling and the interfering appearance of a moronic tourist on the scene. The unwelcome visitor notices Hope being abducted by a gang of bad guys. So, they take him prisoner, too. At first, the robbery takes place exactly as planned: Hope is forced to lure her lover Dick out of the Tower and he's overpowered. After that, the jewels are grabbed with little more than a how-do-you-do.

In a village somewhere in the Near East, an old man is telling his story to some children. He used to be known as "Little Mook". He had better than expected manners for a child, but also had many problems: his father died when he was very young and Little Mook was kicked out of his home by greedy relatives. He wandered off into the desert, hoping to find a merchant who'd "sell" him good fortune. Among the sand dunes, he comes across a small house owned by a wicked woman, who owned many cats. She wished to make Little Mook her servant, but he managed to escape, stealing a pair of magic shoes, which enabled him to run faster than any other man in the land. But his challenges didn't end there ...

January 1945: The 1st Byelorussian Front begins its offensive on the Vistula River outside of Warsaw. The goal is to reach Berlin and finish the Second World War. In its path, and later between the frontlines, is a helpless population at the mercy of both the Soviet Army, filled with hatred and a desire for revenge, and the German leadership, incapable of protecting its own people. Based on the book by Anthony Beevor, director Sven Ihden uses both film archive sources and personal interviews to explore the mental state of both the fighting men on the two opposing sides and the civilian population caught between the two of them.

The pleasure boat “Milwaukee” has a wide variety of guests on board: Frau Deiters, who is determined to get her daughter married off; Herr Krueger, who won a free ticket to travel onboard; Herr Dr. Bornemann, a completely introverted man, who has dedicated himself to his work; and Ms. Kathe, the ship’s photographer. On the way to Madeira, Mother Deiters quickly determines, that only Dr. Bornemann would be an appropriate match for her daughter. However, Fraulein Kathe secretly is in love with him. When the two end up in a very publicly embarrassing situation, the entire ship thinks she is the fiancée.

Gustaf Grundgens plays the main roll in this theatre work by George Bernard Shaw, later to become famous as a musical. Professor Higgins teaches phonetics and observes other people with a professional interest in how they express themselves, as is the case with the flower seller, Eliza. He wants to carry out an experiment with her, making her completely into a “lady”, who can carry her own in higher society circles and not betray her lowly social origins.

A love story based in Munich in 1852: An Austrian officer belonging to the nobility has the mission of ensuring the young Kaiser Franz Joseph doesn’t endanger his future marriage to Princess Elisabeth by his acquaintanceship with the daughters of a coffee-house owner.

Benjamino Gigli makes his first film appearance in this story about a woman, who, disappointed by a ship’s officer on a trip to New York, marries a widowed singer, who has a small child. When her former lover/seaman turns up once more, she decides after deep conflicting emotions to stay with her marriage and the child.

As a consequence of an auto accident, the famous Tenor Cavallini gets to know Jeanette, a member of a traveling theatre. As a favor to her, he appears in a show being put on by the troupe, because the male star of the group, along with the director, has disappeared with the group’s funds. The he travels on to Paris, where he’s eagerly being awaited. But when he arrives in Paris, the female lead flakes on a performance they were to do together; so Cavallini now searches for Jeanette, so the two can perform “Madame Butterfly” together.

Tragic love story set in Norway at the turn of the 19th into the 20th Century. An impoverished woman and a miller’s son, who will one day become a famous poet, are in love but are forced to relinguish any futre happiness between them.

A German-American industrialist with a spirited daughter manages to get caught up in industrial espionage, when the bad guys attempt to kick a Rumanian project over to the competition. Three friends – a taxi driver; a head waiter; and a hairstylist – somehow end up in the middle of it, too. In a nod to Nazi morals, the head waiter turns his back on a rich lady and stays with a maid in the end. Of course, he does.

Peter is in love with Nanette, the daughter of the jeweler Bergmann, who employs Peter. Unfortunately, Bergmann thinks Peter is a moron. But when Peter succeeds in getting back a stolen gem – in disguised and using a false name – he gets Nanette as his wife.

In Veit Harlan's interpretation of Gerhart Hauptmann's drama "Vor Sonnenuntergang", now muddied with National Socialist ideology, Emil Jannings plays one of the most prominent roles of his acting career: the industrial magnate Matthias Clausen, who, after the death of his wife, is confronted with the selfish maneuverings of his children, who couldn't give a rat's ass about what their plotting is doing to the company, to which Clausen dedicated his entire life. While his son-in-law Erich Klammroth is especially intriguing against the patriarch of the family, Clausen finds comfort in the company of his loyal, young secretary, Inken Peters. Together they must resist the plotting and schemes of the potential heirs to the throne to preserve Clausen's legacy for future generations.

The Tyrolean peasant girl Barbara Kirchner accepts the marriage proposal of the sawmill owner Franz Leitner. For his part, Franz has gotten jealous of the attention paid to his beautiful fiancée and is hardly enthusiastic, when she starts flirting with Konrad Furst from Munich, when he arrives in town with his oh-so-expensive car. Then Barbara decides, she’s going to visit a girlfriend in Munich. On the bus there, she just happens to run into Konrad, of all people, who flirtingly accompanies her all the way to her girlfriend’s house. It turns out, however, that the friend isn’t home, so Barbara’s ready to return to the farm. But Konrad’s not quite ready to see her leave and, upon his request, Barb takes a room for the night in a nearby boarding house. That evening, the two of them go out on the town. Franz telephones her, as he’s fully aware, that she’s not with her friend. He takes off for Munich and meets Barbara in the hotel. When Konrad shows up at her room a short time later, Franz assumes the two of them are playing bedroom acrobatics and thinks it’s a good time to point out the two are engaged. When Barbara returns home, she discovers that Franz has already told her father about her “immoral behavior” and dad’s a tad pissed. Barbara is disappointed in everyone and feels the best thing to do is go back to Munich with Konrad (you know, just like the best thing to do with an oil fire is to pour gasoline on it to put it out).